CINCINNATI—By official count, only 9,475 showed up to Cintas Center on a rainy Tuesday night for Xavier’s home game against Memphis, a good bit fewer than normal. No telling if the numbers were down in part because the Tigers were among the no-shows.

The person who matters most in all of NCAA basketball was here, though. His name is Mike Bobinski, and for the moment he is The Man. His day job is as Xavier athletics director (although he will become take over as Georgia Tech's AD on April 1), but at night (and on weekend afternoons) he is transformed into the chairman of the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

Memphis came up short against Xavier on Tuesday night. (AP Photo)

His superpower? He's in charge as teams are selected and seeded for March Madness 2013. Some of us believe that’s better than flying like Superman or dashing like The Flash.

The Tigers knew he was watching. Coach Josh Pastner told them so before the game, and he reminded them at halftime—presumably with greater force—after they’d delivered perhaps their worst 20 minutes of basketball in three months.

The Tigers had stormed through an 18-game winning streak that included 13 Conference USA victims, a few mid-majors and Tennessee from the SEC, but still there were the usual doubters—the same people who wonder if Gonzaga’s whole deal is dominating the West Coast Conference—regarding Memphis’ legitimacy.

This wasn’t an ideal opportunity to change that perception, given Xavier’s struggles this season, but it was a chance to unleash a flourish of excellence with Bobinski in the audience. It was a chance to make a statement.

Well, these are the statements the Tigers made after losing, 64-62:

Said guard Geron Johnson: “We came in here taking things for granted, thinking they were going to come in and give us our 25th win. It wasn’t like that. They outworked us, hit big shots, got big rebounds, played like men and they got the victory.”

Said guard Joe Jackson: “It was just one of those nights, and it just so happened it was against Xavier. After winning 18 straight, I think we got relaxed, we thought they were probably going to lay down for us. We didn’t bring that same effort and intensity that we brought into conference.”

Said coach Pastner: “We’ll be better than this. I believe in energy, and we were not energized the first half. We can’t give up second-chance points like we did and miss free throws like we did and beat a good team.”

So that’s the how of Memphis’ first defeat since Dec. 15. The Tigers (24-4) had won 18 consecutive games since falling at home to Louisville, a game in which energy was not the problem (they built a 25-9 lead at the start) but defensive execution surely was (Memphis was called for 33 fouls and yielded 46 free-throw attempts).

Technically, there was more to it, of course. The Tigers’ lethargy resulted in Xavier turning 17 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points. Musketeers forward Travis Taylor grabbed five of his 10 rebounds at the offensive end, and forward Isaiah Philmore also grabbed five.

Though point guard Dee Davis was out injured for Xavier (16-11), and though the Tigers are quite adept at squeezing turnovers from opponents—nearly 16 per game on average—the Musketeers gave up the ball only 10 times because they so rarely faced a hassle from the defense. The Tigers recovered in the game primarily by making six second-half 3-pointers, but they didn’t close the deal because they gave up key layups and a killer 3-pointer by XU shooting specialist Brad Redford with 1:46 left that put them behind for good.

“It was just a tough night for us,” Jackson told Sporting News. “We couldn’t make our paint shots, we missed double-figure free throws and we got outrebounded. There’s a lot of things that caused this loss.

“A game like this, we have to learn it’s time for us to prove something to people because we don’t get a chance to play on ESPN2. We basically have got to become greedy for moments like this.”

Pastner tried to mitigate the notion of this game as a missed opportunity. A year ago, the Tigers were dumped into an 8/9 NCAA game despite a 26-8 record, but he contends the greater issue in the team’s early exit was the matchup against Saint Louis’ ball-control approach.

The Tigers reached the NCAA Tournament twice in Pastner’s three previous seasons but have yet to advance, and there naturally is pressure on the program to move that direction. What John Calipari accomplished in compiling a 13-4 NCAA Tournament record in his final four seasons as Memphis coach might not be a realistic goal, but lasting into the weekend would be a start.

“We could be the 2 seed, the 1 seed, but we have to win games in the NCAA Tournament,” Pastner said. “I think this year seeding means nothing. It all comes down to matchups. So you’ve just first got to get in, and you’ve got to win a game or two. Or three or four or five or six. The opportunities are going to come in the NCAA Tournament.”

Surely this was an opportunity to make those opportunities more manageable. It was not one the Tigers were in the mood to seize.